Q & A: TFC GM Ali Curtis expects the Reds to bounce back and compete for the MLS Cup this season

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The Toronto Sun sat down with Ali Curtis at training camp this week and fired a number of questions at the new Toronto FC general manager as the club prepared for the 2019 MLS season.

Q: You arrived in Toronto at a very volatile time, having to deal with, among other things, superstar forward Sebastian Giovinco, who ultimately was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal FC last week. How tough was it to have to jump into the fire so quickly?

CURTIS: “Yeah, there were a lot of things going on pretty fast early on and kind of multi-directional, but we feel pretty good about the team and some of the changes that we’ve made and there will more changes will come.”

Q: Did those negotiations with the Giovinco camp, his subsequent departure and his Instagram post, which essentially blamed the club for the breakup, leave a sour taste in your mouth?

CURTIS: “I think it’s important that we’re hard-working and cerebral about decisions that we make moving forward (but) I was disappointed with the post on social media because you never want that kind of thing to be the last thing within a relationship. I was disappointed in that but sometimes emotions flare up and now that things have calmed down we can focus on how to continue to improve the team. We all want to win so it’s important that we look forward. And I can understand why some fans may be upset because he scored a lot of goals for the club, they won an MLS Cup while he was here. And I can see why some fans may say: ‘Hey, it’s time to turn the page and move forward.’ The range of emotions from fans, players and staff … I get. And I appreciate and respect that. But, again, it comes back to our job to analyze the situation and make strong decisions moving forward to get better.”

Q: Head coach Greg Vanney said that without Giovinco and Victor Vazquez around, the team will have to play differently. Given that, what kind of impact player are you going to try to get?

CURTIS: “You always want a difference-maker and that’s what Giovinco was: A difference-maker, a type of player that you give him the ball, he’ll do a lot of special things with that, put teams off balance and things like that. So we’re looking for a player that has qualities that can be a difference -maker and make an impact, be creative and dynamic. In terms of a replacement designated player, that’s what we’re kind of looking for. At the same time, we’re also looking for other pieces for the team, whether we’re looking at TAM (Targeted Allocation Money) players or looking at non-TAM players. And most of those changes are for attacking, dynamic, creative players.”

Q: So, as far as a DP replacing Giovinco and TAM players, what are you looking at?

CURTIS: “We want attacking, creative and dynamic players and that’s because we want to score goals, we want to create opportunities. We want to be threatening. You know, we look at all positions, especially you’re looking at kind of the front-six players, in the midfield or up top, and I think what’s most important is we bring in personalities, we bring in players that fit those personality characteristics that are important to our fans and are important to us — hard working, good teammates, good communicators, good leaders, good character. I think it’s really, really important that we focus on those attributes in addition to all the different things the players can add purely through a skill perspective.”

Q: What can you say about the rumours that you’re looking seriously at bringing in Argentine forward Jonathan Menendez?

CURTIS: “I don’t like to comment on players that are on other team’s rosters and things like that. But we’re a big club and we’re always linked to a lot of different players on a lot of different teams and in a lot of ways, that’s a good thing. We are trying to get a few deals (completed).”

Q: Last year TFC missed qualifying for the MLS playoffs. What are your thought on this club that you inherited?

CURTIS: “I think if you ask most general managers in our league, they’ll say that Toronto FC is one of the most talented rosters in the league — if you’re just looking on paper. But the game’s not played on paper and it’s important that every day we’re committed to working at the highest intensity. I’m excited about the roster, I think it’s strong. I think it can compete for championships. That being said, I still want to add some more players that can help in different ways and hopefully that comes sooner than later.”

Q: Is your team going to make the (MLS) playoffs this season?

CURTIS: “I think the fans should be incredibly excited about what’s going to happen this year. I think this is going to be a strong team. We’re going to compete for the (MLS) Cup. That’s what we want.”

You’re inheriting a head coach. What are your thoughts on Vanney?

CURTIS: “We knew each other. We weren’t like buddies, but it’s a small world and I’ve had a number of different interactions over the last 10 years or so with him and each one of those has been positive. (Since then) we’ve had a number of conversations, exchange of ideas and things like that and I’ve been really, really impressed. Greg is a cerebral person, a cerebral coach and, most importantly, he’s a really good human being. I’ve enjoyed the process of getting on the same page as Greg. It’s a big year for all of us and he’s going to have his hands full in terms of getting the team going in the right way. We want to win, he knows that, he wants that, and so do I.”

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